A Chinese company has said it will ask customs officials to ban imports and exports of Apple iPads over a trademark dispute.

All iPads are manufactured in China, meaning global sales of the tablets could be affected if the authorities agree to enforce the request, made by Shenzhen Proview Technology.

The dispute with Proview – which a court ruling said owns the iPad name in China – has resulted in authorities seizing iPads from retailers in one city. Proview said it had asked for enforcement in 30 other cities.

"We are now working on a request to China customs to ban and seize all the import and export of the iPad products that have violated the trademark," Xie Xianghui, a Proview lawyer, said. He gave no indication of when the request might be filed.

Apple, based in Cupertino, California, has defended its ownership of the iPad name.

"We bought Proview's worldwide rights to the iPad trademark in 10 different countries several years ago," Carolyn Wu, an Apple Inc spokeswoman in Beijing, said. "Proview refuses to honour their agreement with Apple in China."

Wu declined to comment on the possibility of Proview requesting a ban on iPad imports and exports.

China is Apple's fastest-growing market. Its iPads and iPhones are manufactured by a Taiwan-based contractor, Foxconn Technologies Group, at factories in southern China.

Shenzhen Proview Technology registered the iPad trademark in China in 2001. Apple bought rights to the name from Proview Taipei, a Taiwan company affiliated with Proview, but the mainland company says it still owns the name in China.

A Chinese court rejected Apple's claim to the name in China in December. Apple appealed against the decision, and Wu said: "Our case is still pending in mainland China."

Chinese rules allow trademark owners to request seizure of goods that violate their rights, according to Stan Abrams, a US lawyer who teaches intellectual property law at Beijing's Central University of Finance and Economics.

The rules were enacted partly in response to foreign pressure for Beijing to stamp out the rampant unlicensed copying of foreign movies, music and designer clothes. Abrams said exports could be seized under rules meant to prevent manufacturers in China from sending unlicensed copies to other markets.

"All of these things that Proview can do, whether it's going to court or customs, these are the things that we want to see," Abrams said. "So it's definitely ironic."

Chinese news reports have said Proview, which makes computer displays, is deep in debt and needs a big settlement from Apple.

Proview has yet to make an offer to settle, Xie, the company's lawyer, said, adding: "We are now focusing our work on upholding rights and haven't made negotiation proposals to Apple yet. As for the reasons, you should ask Apple."

Shenzhen Proview Technology is a subsidiary of the LCD screen-maker Proview International Holdings Ltd, which has headquarters in Hong Kong.

Apple might be able to sue the Taiwan company on contract grounds for selling name rights it did not own, Abrams said, but added that a victory in such a suit would not give Apple rights to the name on the mainland.

"This kind of thing happens, but it's a mistake and it's a really bad one in this case," Abrams said. "They're paying for it now."